Hi everyone...i just found this forum..today is 16 april 2012..in 10 days i got a court date ..for red light ticket i got in july last year...
Erin Mills pkwy in mississauga...they want 325 bucks from me..and i said fk it ..im fighting......
Here is the 411 on it...70 km/h zone..i entered the intersection doing 57 km/h when the red light was on for 0.6 seconds..and it took me 1.6 seconds to cross the intersection. Now here is the kicker to the story .. it is my car..me in it..yep i did it..but this is the day when my car broke down. I tried to stop when some belts and pulleys and other sht got ripped out of my engine and the car while making horrible noises wasnt responding the way it was supposed to ( breaking was shot ..driving etc.. ) suffice to say i was 57 km on 70 km/h zone unable to stop thus i crossed on red. After i came to stop i got my car towed to garage..then fixed...while after i got the notice of offence. I don't have the towing info since i had no use for it when i got towed ( and i had no idea i went thru red ) but i have the bill AND times of BUYING the parts from a supplier for my car and price for it location etc...invoice basically and then bill from garage for few 100s bucks for fixing my car. same date just few hours later...
Now my question is...I couldn't stop due mechanical failure of my car thus im not guilty of running the red light since the car wouldn't stop....Is it defense? I mean how should i handle it?....I don't want to go and play dumb..i just want to show them in court that LOOK if i WAS running red light i would got FASTER then 70 not frikin SLOWER by 13 km/h ...and then have 500 bucks worth of invoices for repairs on my car....i mean..if an engine falls off of a plane and it crashes..you can't frikin blame the pilot for the crash...same here...i wanted to stop but i couldn't..
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
p.s.
the sign saying red light camera ahead is behind a tree...not visable from the street...just as an observation..
and on both pictures my break lights are visable..

Failing to stop for a red light is what's known as an absolute liability offence. Basically, the Court will only really be interested in whether you stopped or not, not the reason why. A mechanical defect is not a defence in my opinion for such an offence. Even if such the Court were to accept it as a defence, you would need some very strong evidence showing how both your main and emergency brake would suddenly fail without warning.

Personally I think your best bet would be to try and work out a plea deal with the Crown to a reduced fine.

Lots of motorists aren't really happy with red-light cameras -- the law-enforcement gadgets that snap a picture of you and your license plate if you are caught in an intersection when the light turns red. Many feel the devices are more about raising municipal revenues than they are about making the roads better. With those unhappy motorists as possible consumers, two items have been separately intended to bust the photo-busters at their own game. One is currently available and the other seeks extra seed cash.

just a quick update..i won the case..when I went to court the prosecutor said she doesn't have pictures. I don't know what she ment by this but I think she ment red light pictures. And case was thrown out.